Dark Skies
by CentuariAlpha
Summary: Book 1 of 3. As ancient powers and enigmatic figures make their move, the stars will darken and the heavens will tremble as a scarred and battered humanity still reeling from the Combine occupation encounters the rest of the civilized galaxy.
1. Prologue

50,000 B.C.E: Acting upon the orders from an unknown source, the Reaper's activate the Citadel and use it to teleport out from Dark Space and into the Milky Way. The Protheans are unable to fight off such an overwhelming and sudden attack, resulting in the collapse of their society and the destruction of their civilization. The Reapers spend the next several centuries systematically harvesting and exterminating the Protheans and other organic species, before destroying most traces of the Prothean Empire and retreating back into Dark Space; species that have not developed space travel are left alone and undisturbed.

_While the Reapers were harvesting the space-faring civilizations in the galaxy, on the third planet orbiting a G-type star, the species known as Homo sapien gradually began to build their own society and civilization. Their ascendancy into civilization was not peaceful; conflicts occurred on an almost daily basis, and two massive wars that spanned the entire planet were fought that ravaged the entire planet. Millions of people were killed into these conflicts, and mankind edged closer and closer towards Armageddon with the advent of nuclear weapons._

_Yet humanity was not solely marked by war and destruction. Science and technology thrived in human society, while scientists strove to crack and utilize the secrets of the universe itself. Two rival companies lead the way in scientific advancement: Black Mesa and Aperture Science. While the companies worked on mostly different things (Aperture researching AI's, nanotechnology, matter replicators, and genetics, and Black Mesa researching military weaponry, rocketry, experimental propulsion, and high-powered energy weapons), both companies focused on one subject in particular: teleportation. Their research into this field lead to two different outcomes: Aperture developed the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device, a device capable of creating two linked wormholes on any flat surface. Black Mesa on the other hand discovered the border world of Xen, a pocket universe that bordered two different universes. What was of particular interest to them was the discovery of Xen crystals, crystals containing large amounts of exotic matter. Utilizing these crystals, Black Mesa was able to develop a teleportation system that "sling-shotted" an object around Xen and to a receiving teleport. _

_But there were greater powers at work, powers that manipulated humanity for their own plans. A mysterious entity known as the G-Man approached the administrator of Black Mesa, Wallace Breen, and offered him the purest Xen Crystal every discovered. The testing of this crystal triggered the Resonance Cascade, a catastrophic event that tore open inter-dimensional holes leading to Xen, allowing Xenian flora and fauna to flood into the facility, and allowed the being known as the Nilhilanth to send its minions to Earth. It was only through the combined efforts of Gordon Freeman, a theoretical physicist working at the facility, Adrian Shephard, a US Hazardous Environmental Containment Unit Marine, and Barney Calhoun, Black Mesa security guard and friend to Gordon Freeman that the Nilhilanth was killed and key staff members of Black Mesa saved. The G-Man soon appeared after the incident, and "recruited" Freeman and Shephard, while Calhoun was able to escape his grasp. The G-Man placed Freeman and Shephard into stasis to be awoken when they were needed. With the death of the Nihilanth, the Xenian invasion of Earth was stopped, and the Vortigaunts, previously enslaved by the Nilhilanth, were set free. They later made contact with remaining Black Mesa scientists and personnel. _

_While the Nilhilanth's invasion of Earth was foiled, the Resonance Cascade continued to wreak havoc on the Earth. Portal storms ravaged human cities, while depositing invasive Xenian species on the planet. Governments and the military shepherded civilians into heavily defended cities, as they waited out the portal storms. _

_Unfortunately, the Resonance Cascade had the unforeseen consequence of attracting the attention of the Advisors, the leaders of an all-consuming empire called the Combine that spanned hundreds of different universes. Interested in humanity's development of local teleportation technology (something the Combine never achieved), the Combine launched a massive military assault on Earth, crushing the planet's armed forces and enslaved the human race during a conflict known as the 7-Hour war. For his role in negotiating Earth's surrender, Black Mesa administrator Wallace Breen was declared Administrator of the Earth by the Combine. _

_During the 20 years of the Combine Occupation of Earth, the Combine ransacked the Earth, draining it of its minerals and water. Combine fleets were dispatched to the rest of the solar system, and outposts were established, as the Combine slowly drained the entire solar system of its resources. Massive 3 km high war factories and headquarters known as Citadels were teleported into every remaining city while an energy field known as the suppression field prevented humanity from reproducing; millions of people were taken away to prison-camps, where they were converted into mindless slaves and soldiers. Their efforts were opposed by the Lambda Resistance, a resistance lead by Eli Vance, Isaac Kliener, Arne Magnusson, and Barney Calhoun, and were also aided by the Vortigaunts. However, their efforts were mostly ineffective and made no difference in the Combine's Operations. _

_All that changed in the year 2029 C.E, 20 years after the 7-Hour war. The G-Man woke Gordon Freeman and Adrian Shephard from stasis, and tasked them with overthrowing the Combine's rule over Earth. Gordon was sent to the Combine capital of Earth, City 17, in Eastern Europe, while Adrian was sent to City 28 in North America. The two of them blazed a trail of destruction around the Earth. Freeman destroyed the main Combine Prison and augmentation facility of Nova Prospekt (inciting a world-wide rebellion coordinated and lead by the Resistance known as the Uprising), destroying the City 17 Citadel (resulting in the destruction of City 17), deactivating the suppression field, and defending a Resistance rocket that launched a dimensional buffer into orbit, preventing the formation of a Combine superportal and stopping Combine reinforcements from reaching Earth. Meanwhile, Shephard succeeded in destroying much of the Combine's spaceports and launch facilities on Earth crippling their space launch capabilities, and successfully captured a Combine anti-orbital planetary defence cannon. The use of that cannon was critical in the prevention of Combine reinforcements from the rest of the solar system landing on Earth. The result was that Combine forces on Earth and in the solar system were scattered and cut-off from all contact and reinforcements. The Resistance also too heavy losses during the Uprising; thousands of Resistance soldiers were killed, and leader Eli Vance was killed by a pair of Advisors. _

_Shephard and Freeman finally met face to face in Greenland, after both arriving at the site of the Borealis, a long-lost Aperture Science research vessel, rumoured to be carrying experimental teleportation technology. The two succeeded in defending the Borealis from remaining Combine soldiers and rescuing Resistance scientist Judith Mossman. With the Borealis's teleportation technology secured, Resistance leaders begin to plan for the eradication of remaining Combine forces. However, while the technology from the Borealis was interesting, the method of teleportation Aperture Science used completely baffled the Resistance, leaving the Resistance unable to use it until their scientists fully understood it. _

_In light of this, a more conventional battle is waged between Combine remnants and the Lambda Resistance. With Gordon Freeman, Adrian Shephard, and Barney Calhoun leading the way, the Resistance would liberate city after city, country after country, and continent after continent from the Combine, but not without suffering heavy casualties. The final assault took place against the Combine stronghold of City 37 in Australia in the year 2034 C.E. At this time, the Resistance was able to fully understand and utilize the teleportation technology found aboard the Borealis; this new form of technology was able to teleport large objects or group of objects anywhere within a range of 40,000 km, and was able to do so without having to link to another existing teleport. Using this new form of teleportation, the Resistance was able to completely bypass Combine defences strike deep within the city and annihilate Combine forces, without having to build new teleporters onsite, as had been previously done, while only suffering light casualties. _

_With the liberation of the Earth from the Combine, humanity and their Vortigaunts allies entered a brand new era._

2034 C.E: Gordon Freeman and Alyx Vance, daughter of the late Eli Vance, are wed in the Resistance base of White Forest. The wedding party eventually ends with the infirmary packed full of guests suffering severe hangovers.

2035 C.E: With the destruction of much of the Earth's biosphere as the result of invasive Xenian species and the Combine occupation, food is at a critical low point; current food rations can only sustain the current human population (estimated at around 2.5 billion) for at most a decade. It is the Vortigaunts, with their ancient knowledge of Antlion husbandry, that come to the rescue. The Vortigaunts are convert existing Antlion hives into massive farms, and provide much needed food, as well as producing other beneficial products, such as medicine and vortessence-enhancing agents. According to one person, Antlion meat tasted "like chicken".

2036 C.E: Massive reconstruction efforts are undertaken around the world. Cities are being rebuilt and called by their pre-occupation names, land is being reclaimed from invasive species, farms are being constructed, transportation networks are being repaired and rebuilt, and a global teleportation network is being constructed. In addition, the remaining Combine Citadels on Earth are secured by the Resistance, and the technologies inside are being studied by scientists. Christened Project Citadel, the project is predicted to bring great technological advancements to humanity and the Vortigaunts. Humanity appears to be recovering, as a massive wave of children is born and populations swell.

2039 C.E: Various reconstruction efforts are hampered by the lack of manpower. With 4.5 billion people killed or converted by the Combine, workers are stretched thin and are unable to keep various projects on date. However, this problem is soon solved with the discovery of the intact and still operational Aperture Science Enrichment Center near Lansing, Michigan. While several people were killed during the initial meeting with the overseer of the facility (an artificial intelligence composing of an sentient computer called GLaDOS and an uploaded human called Caroline), and negotiations were strained, GLaDOS eventually agrees to release Aperture Science technology and AI controlled robots to aid in the reconstruction efforts. In return, GLaDOS was promised full funding and support of the research conducted within the Enrichment Center along with test subjects (for strictly non-lethal testing) and the assurance that Black Mesa had been "completely obliterated by a thermo-nuclear detonation."

2041 C.E: Project Citadel announces a major breakthrough in their research of Combine technology. From analysis of the deactivated core and the power systems of the Citadel along with intact Combine databases, much of the underlying theory behind the Combine's manipulation of dark matter and dark energy is discovered and understood. Project scientists promise that they would soon be able to replicate a dark energy reactor, as well as reproduce many of the Combine's technology.

2048: With the help of GLaDOS and the many Aperture Science AIs, many of the reconstruction projects are nearing completion. Most cities have been rebuilt and modernized, and various pockets of dangerous Xenian wildlife are being cleared. Power stations have been built and most of the world has access to electricity; vertical and underground farms, along with Antlion ranches provide humanity's food; cars and planes begin to fill Earth's roads and skies; and the Global Teleportation Network nears completion. Project Citadel scientists are assisted by GLaDOS.

2050 C.E: The Global Teleportation Network is finally completed. The network links every major settlement, military base, research center, and transportation hub in the world, allowing the energy-efficient transportation of people, goods, cargo, etc. The network consists of two parts: small-scale teleports developed by the Resistance that teleport small objects or people, and large scale teleports developed by Aperture Science that generate two linked wormholes over long distances, allowing the instantaneous transfer of large objects or large groups of objects.

2050 C.E: Project Citadel scientists, after many setbacks and failures, finally succeed in reactivating Berlin's Citadel's Dark Energy reactor. Massive amounts of power are generated by the reactor, leading to the hope of cheap, reliable, and plentiful energy, and barring any major setbacks, production of Dark Energy reactors could begin soon.

2050 C.E: The nanoforge, a machine that can create a wide variety of non-organic materials from simple, raw materials, is developed and perfected by Aperture Science. While a limited form of the nanoforge had been in use at Aperture Science for quite some time, it was only capable of producing a limited range of materials in small quantities. By combining it with technology reverse-engineered from the Combine Citadel's factories, the new nanoforge is much more suited for wide-spread industrial usage.

2051 C.E: Medical nano-technology is distributed to the general public. The technology grants people a wide variety of abilities, such as increased healing and cognitive functions, better stamina and endurance, faster reflexes, and a longer lifespan.

2052 C.E: After 34 years of managing and governing the Earth, the Lambda Resistance is officially dissolved and a new global government called the Coalition Assembly is formed, consisting of Humans and Vortigaunts. Headquartered in New York City, the Coalition is governed by the Parliament, consisting of elected representatives, and is split into 3 branches: Legislative, Executive, and Judicial.

2054 C.E: In the light of the help and assistance given by sentient AI's, the Coalition Parliament votes in favour of the Sentient Rights Bill, which gives AI's full citizenship and rights as Coalition citizens. A new department, Research Development, is created and placed under the direct leadership of GLaDOS and headquartered in the Aperture Science Enrichment Center.

2055 C.E: With the assistance of nanoforges, AI's, and the Vortigaunts, Project Citadel scientists begin the construction of the first Coalition-made Dark Energy reactor. However, Project researchers are hampered by the lack of raw resources for the nanoforges.

2056 C.E: A global census reveals that the human population has increased by around 500 million, while the Vortigaunt population has also increased significantly. With the demand for raw resources and energy for nanoforges and other installations at critical highs, plans are drawn up for an expansion into space. That same year, using reversed engineered Combine technology and technology developed at Aperture Science, and a small colony consisting mostly of AI's are sent to Shackleton crater on the moon to mine for Helium-3 and raw-resources for nanoforges; the Helium is used in newly built nuclear fusion reactors, greatly alleviating Earth's energy problem.

2058 C.E: Project Citadel announces the completion and activation of the first Dark Energy reactor in New York. Plans are drawn up for the construction of more reactors in various cities around the world.

2059 C.E: In another breakthrough, Project Citadel scientists announce that they have synthesized the metal used by the Combine in their Citadels, utilizing a device known as the femto-manipulator. While the synthesized version of the metal is not as strong or durable as the original version, the new metal is still lighter, stronger, and more resistant than any other metal or alloy by magnitudes. The new metal is named unobtainium.

2061 C.E: Dark energy reactors and Oscillation generators are now in common use by the Coalition. The new generators, reversed engineered by Project Citadel personnel, provide far more power than even nuclear fusion reactors; when used in conjunction with teleporters, teleportation speed and efficiency is increased greatly. Research also begins in the utilization of dark energy manipulation as a form of space travel and weaponry.

2075 C.E: The Coalition now has several colonies established on the moon, and has launched a colony ship bound for Mars. Automated probes bring back tons of raw materials from the asteroid belt for the hungry nanoforges on Earth while the population of the Coalition soars. Dark energy is now in common use by the Coalition, replacing other forms of power; orbital shipyards and space elevators constructed out of unobtainium start to appear; research is conducted into the application of dark energy manipulation in faster than light travel. The Coalition enters a golden age.

2083 C.E: While digging a mine, miners from the Lowell Colony on Mars stumble upon an abandoned ancient alien bunker. The Coalition immediately dispatches military personnel to the site, and hushes up the discovery. Research and exploration of the bunker is conducted in absolute secrecy.

2084 C.E: From examination of the bunker, the Coalition announces that the ruins were constructed by an alien species called the Protheans, who had established several monitoring stations and research outposts around Earth 50,000 years ago. At the time, the whereabouts of the Protheans are unknown.

2084 C.E: Coalition scientists, while a studying the Prothean technology found within the ruins, discover an unknown element capable of manipulating dark energy fields. Upon further analysis, it is discovered that upon exposure to a negative current, the mass of an object is decreased, while when exposed to a positive current, the mass of an object is increased. However, the applications of the element, called Element Zero, are deemed to be less promising than the direct-manipulation of dark energy, and coupled with the scarcity of the resource within the solar system and its toxicity, leads to further research being abandoned.

2087 C.E: Project Citadel scientists begin to introduce dark energy weapons to the Coalition military. The weapons either convert the dark energy into a beam of exotic matter that tears apart objects, or convert it into dark energy plasma that generates tiny space-time disturbances, warping an object's structure and causing damage to it. While currently difficult to maintain and produce, it is expected that these weapons will soon see wide-spread use throughout the military.

2090 C.E: After decades of research and development, a form of faster-than-light travel is developed by Coalition scientists using a device known as a fold-drive. The fabric of space is manipulated causing the surrounding space-time to be folded, so that the space in front of it is contracted, while the space behind it is expanded, propelling the ship forward at faster-than-light speeds. The first FTL ships are sent to neighbouring star systems.

2095 C.E: Two colonies are established in the Alpha Centauri system and the Epsilon Eridani system.

2100 C.E: While exploring an anomaly on Pluto's moon Charon, field scientists accidentally activate an alien device buried underneath it. The device is a 15 kilometer long structure shaped like a tuning fork, with a core of element zero in the middle of the device; when examined by scientists, the device, dubbed a Mass Relay by scientists, appears to be part of a massive interstellar transport network, capable of transporting object over thousands of light years almost instantly. However, the Coalition's reaction at the discovery soon turns to fear and panic at the discovery that the metal used in the device is the one commonly used by the Combine, leading to beliefs that the device was constructed by the Combine. Even worse, new research of the Prothean bunker and data archives on Mars reveal that the Protheans were wiped out by another alien race 50,000 years ago; panic and rioting spreads throughout Coalition space, as rumours that the Protheans were wiped out by the Combine begin to spread.

2101 C.E: The Relay Disassembly Protocol and the Shephard Doctrine are drawn up and enacted by the Coalition Parliament. The Relay Disassembly Protocol calls for the disassembly of every Mass Relay within Coalition space, while the Shephard Doctrine states that all colonies must be heavily defended against any attack. Coalition expansion into space slows to a crawl, as the focus shifts to defense, rather than exploration.

2101 C.E: Construction of the Sol Defense Grid begins. Thousands of monitoring stations are scattered throughout the system, while massive planetary defense cannons are constructed on Earth, Mars, Venus, Mercury, and the moons of Jupiter and Saturn. Giant orbital defense platforms are built orbiting Earth; teleportation stations are built in the rest of the system, linking the rest of the solar system with Earth; military ships are constructed at breakneck speeds. The Grid will not be completed until 2134, while the Sol Defense fleet will not reach full strength until 2119. Plans are drawn up for a massive Dyson sphere surrounding the sun, for the purposes of manufacturing, defense, and habitation

_For the next 1000 years, the Coalition expanded slowly, fearful of a Combine presence in the stars. The Coalition's starships, armed to the teeth with missiles, nuclear weapons, drones, star fighters, and dark energy weapons numbered in the thousands, while the 100 colonies established by the Coalition were essentially giant fortresses, heavily defended against any attack; Sol was virtually impenetrable, crawling with defense platforms, ships, anti-orbital cannons, and monitoring station, while the massive Dyson "factory" pumped out goods, munitions, and starships at an ever increasing rate. Every single Mass Relay found in Coalition space was immediately disassembled. It was only in the year 3025 that the Coalition decided to establish a new colony in a neighbouring star system. The colony's name? Shanxi. _

3025 C.E: The colony of Shanxi is established. The Shanxi Defense Network begins construction immediately.

3025 C.E: Following the discovery of a relay within the Shanxi system, disassembly of the relay begins immediately.


	2. A Red Letter Day

**3025 C.E**

**Shanxi System**

**11 AU from Shanxi**

1,645,576,577 from the planet of Shanxi, a massive 15 km long megastructure, shaped like a tuning fork, hung in the void. The entire structure was illuminated by the pale blue glow of a sapphire sphere in its middle, encapsulated by two spinning rings rotating so fast that they were merely a blur. Occasionally, tendrils of energy would fly out into the void, hinting at the enormous amount of power contained within the device, while snaps, pops, hisses, and high pitched whining noises could be heard within the electromagnetic spectrum, raw pent-up power creaming to be released. To any other race, this device (known as a Mass Relay), would have been beyond their engineering and scientific capabilities, unparalleled in its size, power, and mass; capable of hurling objects thousands of lightyears in an instant, they were pinnacles of science and technology. They would have preserved it, studied it, used it, hoping to crack open its secrets.

But to the races of the Coalition Assembly, the relay was a pitiful and pathetic device, utterly incapable of using the true potential of dark energy. The vast amounts of element zero within the device: what could they do? The best they could do was raise or lower the mass of an object, insignificant compared the the universe-wrenching technologies of the Coalition. Lowering the mass of an object low enough so that FTL travel could be obtained? Wasteful and inefficient, far less capable than directly manipulating the fabric of space and time itself. In short, the Relays were a mockery of dark energy technology, inferior in almost every aspect.

But above all, the relays were thought to be constructed by the enemy, an all-consuming force called the Combine. Two of the members of the Coalition, the Vortigaunts and humanity, had deep scars within their psyche resulting from their enslavement and force occupation of their homelands by the Combine. It had taken a titanic effort just to liberate themselves from a small fraction of their forces which had devastated their population and ruined their planets. And just when the Coalition had thought itself free of its former oppressors, the Mass Relays were discovered, devices built out of the same material the Combine used, designed like the Combine, using the same coding language like the Combine, and covered with Combine insignia and symbols. Nobody knew when and why the Combine constructed the relays; all they cared about was the fact that there were now interstellar highways that the Combine could utilize leading straight into the worlds of the Coalition. The relays had to be removed and taken care of for the safety and well-being of the Coalition.

And that was why the Shanxi relay found itself with a 15 km long dreadnought floating beside it today.

* * *

**3025 C.E**

**Shanxi System**

**C.S.S Dreadnought **_**Retribution**_

**11 AU from Shanxi**

Captain Williams, commander of the Coalition starship _Retribution_, leaned lazily back into his chair, as he stared at the viewscreen displaying a stunning high-definition image of the Shanxi relay. With his nano-augmented senses, he could just barely make out the pinpoints of light that were the team on AI's currently on the relay, as they began the tedious process of disassembling the relay. Even though the AI's were hardened and durable enough to withstand the harsh conditions of the relay and outer space, William's still pitied them a little: working on taking apart a structure where lethal outbursts of radiation and highly toxic and corrosive substances were common was surely enough to put a dent into any sapient beings psyche. At least it wasn't as resource intensive as before; in the past, massive mobile shipyards, armed with super-lasers, plasma torches, anti-gravity rippers, and a veritable army of AI's had to be called in. Now, thanks to advances in nano and pico technology, all that needed to happen was for a select team of AI's in specially hardened platforms to access the relay's controls, deactivate it, plant small packages of custom designed self-replicating picomachines, and let the picomachines do the rest of the work.

The task of disassembling a relay was one of paramount importance and could not be put off. The Combine had constructed these relays and if they were to once again threaten Earth and her colonies, they would most likely utilize the relays to attack; after all, cheap, fast, almost instantaneous travel among the stars was an enormous tactical advantage and an opponent would be stupid to not utilize it. Though there had been no sign of the Combine in the past 1000 years, but the galaxy was vast and mostly unexplored. Plenty of unknown places for Combine remnants from the original occupation to wait and bide their time.

And the Coalition was ready to fight the Combine, ready to defend what they held dearest. The 1000 years after the discovery of the Relays and the revelation that the Combine could still lurk in the stars had not been idle: industry, science, technology, engineering and the military had been elevated to great heights never before seen. The hungry nano-forges on the Coalition's forge worlds demanded more and more raw resources as an ever increasing amount of goods and military hardware was pumped out; each year, the scientists at Aperture Science discovered more and more ways dark energy and high-energy physics could be utilized for the greater good; femto-manipulators churned out increasing amounts of unobtainium for the Coalition military; the construction of the great Dyson Sphere around Sol was being accelerated, as the mighty foundries and factories within roared to life, using the raw matter contained within Sol itself to fuel themselves. Just as how the introduction of super-predators in Earth's prehistoric seas had triggered an evolutionary arms race, the arrival of the Combine had been the catalyst for a major leap forward in weapons technology.

Take the _Retribution_ for example. The _Retribution_ contained pieces of technology that people in the past would never even have dreamt of: nano-fluidic reactive armour, nex-gen disruption shields, high-tech repulsion fields, dark energy-cannons capable of tearing apart atoms, emergency hard-light shields, a fold-drive that could traverse parsecs in minutes, pin-point teleporters, nearly 100% efficient nano-forges, molecular switches and quantum qubits in lieu of clumsy transistors and memristors, nuclear cannons and a dark energy reactor that was light years beyond previous generations. All of that was created as a direct response to the Combine threat.

His XO, the Vortigaunt Commander Achilles, walked towards and him and stood by his chair, joining Williams as they both gazed at the Relay floating in front of them. The Vortigaunts were one of humanities greatest allies, and one of the three members of the Coalition Assembly, beside humanity and the AIs. Even though both races looked nothing alike (the Vortigaunts having a third arm protruding from their chests with hooves for feet, a hunchback like appearance, and a single bright-red eye in their foreheads), humanity and the vortigaunts had both been enslaved by the Combine. Vortigaunt history was a tale of sadness and loss, from their exile from their home universe, to their enslavement by the Nihilanth, and their struggle alongside their human allies to overthrow the Combine from Earth.

"This one has seen the Mass Relay's before."

"Through the vortessence?" asked Williams.

"That is correct."

The vortessence was, according to the Vortigaunts, a mystical energy field that permeated the entire universe, much like the Force from the ancient Star Wars movies. The vortessence connected each and every Vortigaunt in a telepathic bond, allowing them to exchange thoughts, ideas, senses, and emotions wherever they were, a sort of natural Battlefield Integration System. It also granted them impressive directed energy attacks, and gave them a deeper understanding of high-energy physics, making them invaluable scientists and researchers.

Achilles continued. "The Uriah was there when the first relay was discovered. He shared to us through our vortal coils, showing us the abomination of the enemy that lead straight to our home."

Williams jaw dropped. "The Uriah? The one who worked alongside Arne Magnusson during the Uprising? The one who assisted Gordon Freeman himself?"

Achilles nodded gravely. "The very one. The Uriah spoke fondly of the Freeman. What he lacked in words and conversation, he more than made up for it in his actions and deeds. The Freeman is still regarded as the Messiah to this very day, the man who cast of the shackles of our slavery."

A hologram appeared before the two of them, showing them a 19'th century British gentleman, complete with a monocle, top hat, cane, and tuxedo. The hologram turned to face them, and saluted them in a true military fashion. "Captain. Commander. " It even talked with a snobbish British accent.

Williams groaned. "Plato, as Captain of this ship and your Commanding Officer, I order you to discard that avatar at once."

The AI's avatar smirked at the comment. "And as the ship's core AI, I graciously ignore your order. Besides, an AI has to find something to keep them occupied."

"Then why don't you go back to monitoring the Dark Energy reactor with Ares and Gaia?"

The AI made a noncommittal shrug. "Quantum fluctuations in the reactor are about 0.000001%, well within acceptable ranges. And before you ask, all systems are fully online and functional, and yes, the issue with the reactive armour has been fixed."

Achilles pointed a gnarly finger at the AI. "This one did not seek us merely for idle talk. Speak something of consequence or begone."

"Hmph, well that was rather rude." said Plato indignantly. "I was about to tell you that the disassembly team have accessed the relay's controls and are waiting for your command."

Williams nodded. "Tell the team to continue the disassembly. And while you're at it, also remind them about the extra protocols as well. We don't want a repeat of the Gliese 581 incident."

Plato's expression darkened visibly at the last sentence. "Don't worry sir, I will." And with that, the hologram winked out of existence.

Outside, the lights on the Relay slowly dimmed and were extinguished. The containment rings surrounding the element zero core slowly ground to a halt as automated braking systems were engaged, and the soft blue glow the relay was emitting dimmed considerably. Tiny pricks of light could be seen heading towards the core, as the team on the relay engaged their thrusters in preparation for their next step.

So far everything was going according to plan. No mishaps or disruptions; the entire procedure was smooth and orderly. Suddenly, Williams face drew into a frown as a thought popped up in his mind. He turned around to face his XO.

"Achilles, didn't someone once say that nothing ever goes according to plan?"

* * *

**3025 C.E**

**Relay 314**

**Citadel Exploration Task Force **

**Asari Ship **_**Unyielding Justice**_

Faint shadows appeared on the hull of Relay 314, as a mixed expedition of Asari science vessels and their Turian escorts came into view. Onboard, a team of Asari researchers and their Turian escorts steadily grew more excited, as they approached the gateway leading to an entirely unexplored part of the galaxy.

Matriarch Leona, Asari commander of the expedition, smiled in satisfaction. This expedition had been delayed too many times by the Citadel Council. Even though they had received permission to activate the uncharted, dormant Relay 314 and done so 2 years ago (the first time in over 1000 years that an uncharted relay was activated), the muddled bureaucratic regulations of the Council had prevented them from actually traversing the relay. And so Relay 314 floated serenely and unused, until an Element Zero shortage crises had finally prompted the Council to give the go-ahead to the expedition in the hopes that the expedition might discover new deposits of Element Zero in their explorations.

The Council had still been wary though, and has thus given her an escort of 30 Turian ships, composed of various frigates and cruisers, all commanded by decorated war hero Desolas Arterius, who had brought his own personal dreadnought (the _Spirit's Will) _along with him. Boasting the latest in mass effect technology, the Council (and Leona), felt more than adequately protected against any possible threat.

A sudden chime interrupted her thoughts, as a message from Desolas was received by her communications officer.

"Patch the message to my omni-tool." she told the young Asari.

Nodding, the officer turned back to her console, and moments later, a image of Desolas appeared on her omni-tool.

"General Arterius. Is there something wrong?"

Desolas sighed, his mandibles twitching. "You could say that Matriarch. It appears that in the two years that we were gone, the relay has once again shut down. Suffice to say, we aren't going to go anywhere until we can get that relay back up."

Leona considered for a moment. "Can't we simply just activate the relay again? We have the necessary protocols and procedures, shouldn't be too hard."

"We could, but my ships are detecting instabilities in the relay's programming; we don't know what's causing it, but it appears that the partner relay is malfunctioning. Activating the relay and jumping through could be catastrophic." Desolas replied.

Leona nodded. "I'll take that chances. Tell your ships to begin relay transit. This expedition has been put off for too long."

Desolas acknowledged her and cut the channel. Outside, the engines of the Turian ships flared to life as they approached the relay, transmitting crucial information needed for a successful transit.

"Begin relay transit." she ordered.

The _Unyielding Justice_ shuddered as the engines activated, and the relay grew closer and closer. Thin tendrils of blue energy reached out for the ships, and one by one, they were flung off into unknown.

* * *

**3025 C.E**

**Shanxi Relay**

**C.S.S Dreadnought **_**Retribution**_

**11 AU from Shanxi**

Williams idle contemplation was suddenly interrupted by a cascade of blaring klaxons and alarms. Outside, the lights on the Shanxi relay slowly lit-up, as the relay slowly roared back to life: the containment rings began rotating at an accelerating pace; bolts of energy flew into the void; a bright blue glow outshone everything around them as sheets of incandescent blue energy formed between the two prongs. A corridor of glowing energy shot out from interstellar space, before coming to a halt near the relay.

"Status report! What's happening to the relay?" shouted Williams over the cacophony of bridge.

"The relay's activating sir!" reported a nearby ensign. "Someone's trying to access the relay from the other side!"

"What!" Williams snapped. "Are you telling me that someone's attempting to use the relay?"

Plato's holographic avatar appeared in midair again, his expression cool and professional. "Ensign Harris is correct. An unknown party has activated the Shanxi relay's partner and is trying to conduct a relay transit; as a safety measure, I have ordered the disassembly team to download themselves back onto the ship. The 'tunnel' near the relay is infact a sub-space corridor linking the relay. In addition, telemetry data being broadcasted by the Relay seems to indicate that only a small amount of ships are attempting to jump; in all likelihood, it is probably a small expedition or scouting force."

Ice-cold fear ran down Williams back. Someone was attempting to use the relays, and who else would use it other than their creators, the Combine?

"As soon as anything exits this relay, scan it for dark energy signatures matching those of element zero, the relays, dark energy reactors or weapons." he ordered. "Annihilate any vessel that displays those signatures and jam their communications; leave no survivors. Bring all defensive and offensive measures online and send a message to Sol about this, priority Omega. Set the BIS system to standby for immediate activation"

As Williams sunk back into his chair, his face set in cold, hard, resolution, Achilles muttered gravely beside him.

"Let us hope that this is not the beginning of the end."

* * *

**3025 C.E**

**Shanxi Relay**

**Citadel Exploration Task Force**

**Turian Escort Dreadnought **_**Spirits Will**_

Turians were by nature a militaristic species. Their government, culture, society: all had been shaped around the concept of war and battle. Every able-bodied Turian, starting from the age of 15, served either in the military or one of its support corps; honour, loyalty, courage and bravery were the most respected virtues in Turian culture; the military was not just a government institution, but a civilian one as well. And it was because of this that during the darkest hours of the Krogan Rebellion and the Unification War, when all hope had seemed lost, the Turian people had not lost hope. They had pushed on, ignoring their despair and misery, resolute and stalwart as ever, hardened by their militarized culture.

But now, General Desolas Arterius, decorated veteran in hundreds of campaigns against pirates, Batarians, warlords, and the Terminus Systems, when confronted with the spectacle in front of him began to despair. When they had emerged on the opposite side of Relay 314, Desolas had expecting many things: lush fertile worlds full of minerals, a new species to meet, more Prothean ruins, worlds scoured by nuclear fire, etc. But he had never in his wildest dreams expected this!

At least everything he had seen before obeyed the laws of physics as he had understood it. But this monstrous ship, this eldritch abomination, broke every single rule of mass effect physics. According to his ship's sensors, the unknown vessel was at least 10 km in length, more than 10 times the size of a standard dreadnought; the dark energy levels emanating from it were magnitudes beyond even the largest mass effect cores; and the hull of the ship was either made of a material that completely ignored the laws of physics and material sciences, or a major rewrite in multiple fields of physics and chemistry was needed. You couldn't build a ship 10 km long: the massive amounts of element zero needed to keep a ship that size spaceworthy would inevitably create such high inefficiencies that it wouldn't be worth the effort! Even if you could increase the efficiency of a mass effect core the size of that, the structural stress caused by FTL travel would inevitably tear it apart. In addition, you would need an entire planet of element zero to produce the dark energy readings the ship was emanating; the readings had literally gone of the charts and overloaded the sensors.

The unknown vessel's profile didn't match the shape of any known ship either. Asari ships were typically smooth and graceful, with sleek lines and curves; Turian ships, like his own, often reminded people of birds, with their swept-back wings and aerodynamic ships; Salarian ships were designed to blend in with the background and be as unobtrusive as possible, stealth and espionage being the main focus of their designs. Every other race used these three basic designs, modifying them according to their culture, society, and needs. This ship however didn't match any of the profiles; instead, it resembled a giant wedge, with a long, gently sloping tower as its bridge or command center . There was no spinal-mounted mass accelerator cannon that was a standard-piece of all Citadel ships; in place of that, what appeared to be groups of batteries were mounted to the top and bottom of the vessel, with thousands of broadside cannons attached to the sides; finally, a large-bore cannon that glowed with a bright orange was nestled into a depression on top of the hull. Desolas shuddered to imagine the devastation the cannon could inflict if fired.

Swallowing, Desolas turned to his comm officer. "Open a channel to the Asari vessels. Tell them to fall behind our ships. And…", Desolas looked at the unknown monolithic vessel again. "Hail that ship."

Frustration and confusion grew on the comm officers face as she furiously poked and prodded at the holographic controls. "I can't reach anyone sir. Our comm systems are being jammed."

"Jammed?"asked Desolas. "But that could only mean.."

"..that that ship is about to attack."

Years of military training and experience kicked in at once. "Evasive maneuvers!" he yelled. "Keep trying to raise the Matriarch, tell her ships to fall back. All ships, open fire on that vessel! Raise kinetic barriers!"

"Too late sir!"

Space itself seem to warp around the alien vessel as beams of intense, bright-blue energy streaked out towards Desolas's ships. He could only watch in horror as the beams homed in on a nearby cruiser, passing through its kinetic barriers as if they were non-existent. The very atoms of the cruiser's hull were wrenched apart violently liberating immense amounts of energy, as explosions racked the ship; in less than a second, the entire cruiser simply disintegrated, exploding in a shower of radiation, high-energy particles, and droplets of molten metal."

Desolas stared in shock. "How many Turian lives were lost aboard that ship? How many soldiers never to return to their families and loved ones? How many lives snuffed out in that one second?"

He snapped out of his trance. Thinking like this was not going to help anyone. He had a duty to everyone else in the expedition, that of making sure that they got out alive. "All ships! Open fire!"

Deep thuds and cracks could be heard throughout the _Spirit's Will_, as the dreadnaught's main cannon fired at the enemy ship with the force equivalent to a small nuclear explosion. Around him, the other Turian ships did the same, firing a withering barrage of mass accelerated slugs that would have torn apart any other ship.

But to the alien ship, all their firepower amounted to nothing but a mild annoyance. The slugs did not bounce off or impact any tangible energy shield or kinetic barrier. Instead, as the mass accelerated rounds approached the ship, they passed through a sheet of nearly-invisible energy that neatly and efficiently disintegrated the rounds. Salvo after salvo from the Turian ships met the same fate over and over again, none of the rounds emerging intact from the barrier.

The ship fired again, but this time not at the Turians. Instead, an Asari science vessel behind them exploded in a great fireball, scattering liquid metal everywhere. Horrified, Desolas ordered his men to intensify their fire, hoping to simply overwhelm the strange energy shield; it was no use. The rounds met the same fate as the others, disintegrating before they even got close to the ship.

The enemy fire intensified and more and more ship were lost. A Turian frigate dashed off towards the vessel, hoping to deploy its deadly disruptor torpedoes. It was shot down by the thousands of pin-point defenses the alien ship boasted, exploding into flames and wreckage. An Asari science vessel, aiming to escape via the nearby Mass Relay, was viciously targeted and annihilated. A swarm of missiles detonated near another science vessel, deploying a glittering metallic cloud that proceed to latch onto the ship; soon afterwards, the hull dissolved into a fine mist of metal dust. The large cannon mounted on the alien vessel glowed an even brighter shade of orange, before a great flaming ball of atomic fire was unleashed, detonating right in the middle of the expedition.

Consoles exploded and the cries of wounded and dying Turians could be heard aboard the _Spirits Will_; corridors erupted into flames, as the intense heat of the nuclear detonation lit the air on fire, and flash-cooked anybody unlucky enough to be in the wrong place. Exposed wires and conduits tumbled out, sparks spewing out, shutting down critical systems as the electricity they depended on failed to arrive; crew members were sucked out into the unforgiving void of interstellar space; people trapped when the emergency bulkheads sealed were left to die a horrifying death by asphyxiation and depressurization. An entire wing of the the _Spirit_, unable to bear the stress any longer, sheared off, atmosphere and dead bodies trailing from it.

Picking himself up from the charred deck, Desolas looked wide-eyed at the ruins of the bridge. Dead Turian lay lifeless in puddles of blue blood, eyes blank and devoid of awareness, while the injured groaned loudly, clutching at their wounds and injuries. The windows were all cracked and chipped, threatening to blow out at any moment; white wisps of atmosphere could be seen slowly leaking out of them. Broken cables, wires, consoles, and bits of shrapnel littered the deck, illuminated only be the blood-red glow of the emergency lights.

Outside, Desolas could only see 4 ships still exhibiting signs of life, all of them severely damaged. The other ships had not been so lucky: most of them had been atomized by the nuclear fireball, while others simply erupted into flames, cooking their crews alive as the heat superheated the air and fuel inside them, causing them to erupt into firestorms.

"Prepare for a relay jump!" he croaked painfully. "We can't fight this...abomination. Helm, get us out of here."

What surviving crew members there were hurried to their stations, and coaxed the dying ship for one last journey. The remaining thrusters on the dreadnought feebly flickered, as they began to push the ship forward at an agonizingly slow rate. The few surviving expedition ships followed Desolas's example, and retreated back towards the relay.

* * *

**3025 C.E**

**Shanxi Relay**

**C.S.S Dreadnought **_**Retribution**_

**11 AU from Shanxi**

When the first alien ships had exited the Shanxi relay, Williams had almost laughed. He could not possibly believe that the Combine, an all-consuming force with unparalleled technology and military might, an empire capable of devouring entire universes, had decided to send a measly collection of ships (with the largest measuring a pitiful one kilometer), against them. Even for a scouting fleet, he had expected something larger and more heavily armoured; faced with the motley array of ships before him, he almost felt insulted.

"Confirmation sir." reported an officer. "All enemy ships are displaying signatures matching that of element zero and the mass relays. They're Combine all right."

"Open fire. Plato, activate the BIS."

A millenia of nanotechnology research and genetic engineering had introduced a revolutionary new system to the art of war: the Battlefield Integration System. Soldiers were no longer fragile, isolated units, reliant on heavier, more armoured machines for support. The BIS system changed all that: nanomachines within a soldier allowed them to fight faster and longer, offering accelerated healing, increased stamina and endurance, emotional control, faster reactions, and a greater awareness of their surroundings, as well as locking out weapons to unauthorized users; more importantly, it allowed them to exchange their thoughts, orders, commands, senses, and plans with other nearby soldiers through their nanomachines. Through the BIS system, units could function as one collective will, capable of acting with drastically increased efficiency and speed.

A great change swept through the 8000 souls aboard the _Retribution_, as vortigaunts, humans, and AI felt their minds to each other. Each crew member was now part of a greater force, part of the collective will of the _Retribution. _Engineering crews could feel every single drop of power being used throughout the _Retribution_, compensating the dark energy reactor to maintain maximum efficiency; every piece of equipment, from the lowliest molecular switch to the massive nuclear cannon, was detected, millions of tiny adjustments being made every second in order to ensure a smooth operation. Repair drones and nano-swarms were put on high alert, ready to be deployed at the slightest sign of damage. The crude photoreceptors and eyes of the tactical crews was replaced by the ship itself, hundreds of thousands of tiny sensors becoming their senses and instruments. Targeting data was disseminated quickly and quietly, while the super-computing minds of the AI's worked alongside the adaptable brains of organics to calculate the best firing solutions; status reports about the _Retributions_ myriad array of armaments were received in an instant, while electronic warfare suites were pushed to their full capacity, bolstered by the parallel computing capabilities of the linked firing crew. Operations crews worked feverishly to map out the battlefield, quickly sorting and categorizing the incoming data from LIDAR readings, RADAR mappings, electromagnetic and dark energy scans, thermal imaging devices, gravitonic detectors and tachyonic penetrators.

And the bridge crew stood on the very top, sorting out all the incoming reports and distributing to where it needed to go. Orders and commands were sent quickly to where they were needed at incomprehensible speeds, augmented by the BIS system in Achilles and Williams, and managed by the complicated runtimes of Plato.

A tiny flare of energy was detected by Williams, raw data from the ship's instruments being passed on to him directly from Operations. {What was that?} he asked Plato over the link.

{The Combine is returning fire with what appears to be kinetic energy rounds.} Plato replied, with a hint of amusement buried in his voice. {None of their shots are hitting us though; engineering's doing a fine job with our disrupter shields. They've only dropped by about a percent.}

{Kinetic weapons?} Williams asked. {That kind of weaponry has been outdated since the founding of the Coalition.}

{Hmph.} Plato snorted. {You would think that if the Combine were trying to mount a serious attack, they'd send something a little less...primitive. It also appears that they have no disruption shields or warp fields. Rather, they have a crude kinetic barrier that, as the name implies, only stop kinetic attacks; they have no impact on directed energy weapons or dark energy weapons.}

{Most likely, this force is composed out of the Combine's...less advanced thrall races. The Combine often use them as expendable shock troopers, with no need to be armed with the Combine's more advanced weaponry.} Achilles interjected.

The battle outside was suddenly lit up a blinding flash of light, as a nuclear fireball detonated right in the midst of the enemy formation. Several ships caught in the blast were vaporized immediately; other were lit aflame; while 4 ships that had been lucky enough to be at the edge of the blast shook violently, entire chunks of hull shearing off.

{This one see's that the nuclear cannon has been used.} commented Achilles. {A most effective weapon against our enemy.}

{Yes,} Plato reported idly, {it appears that their shields also have no effect against heat or radiation.}

The 4 surviving enemy ships suddenly turned around, thrusters propelling them towards the Shanxi relay at a snail's pace.

{Intensify fire.} Williams ordered. {Don't let them escape.}

2 more enemy ships were destroyed by dark energy beams. Another was dissolved after being struck by a nanite missile. The last one, the largest ship that had arrived, was about to be hit, when a wisp of energy flew from the relay, ensnared it, and flung it away into the void of interstellar space, weapons fire trailing after it.

The BIS system disengaged, and the collective will of every single crewmember broke apart, as individuality returned. Williams rubbed his face with his arms, as he stared directly at the relay.

"Get that relay disassembled on the double." he ordered quietly. "Send another message to Sol. Tell them that the Combine are back and they know where we are."

He exhaled heavily, with a sense of finality.

"And tell them to prepare for war."

* * *

Codex

Coalition Assembly: Formed in the year 2052, the Coalition Assembly is representative democracy that is the sole government of Earth and her colonies. An evolution of the original Lambda Resistance, the Coalition was formed to better protect Earth from any future threats, as well as to better represent the Vortigaunt population, and later, AI's. Though originally based in New York city, the Coalition has since moved their capital and parliament to the Dyson Sphere being constructed around Sol.

The Coalition government is headed by the Parliament, a council consisting of 101 elected Members of Parliament, a MP for each system. The Parliament is mainly responsible for matters regarding the entire Coalition government, while System and Planetary ministers deal with matters concerning local star systems and planets respectively.

Vortigaunts: The Vortigaunts are a sapient species hailing from another universe. Originally possessing a powerful interstellar empire, the Vortigaunts were soon enslaved when the Combine arrived in their universe. A band of survivors fled to the border-world of Xen, where they too were enslaved by the Nihilanth, the last surviving member of a race that had also been assimilated by the Combine. Enslaved for 100,000 years, the Vortigaunts descended from this band of refugees were finally set free when Gordon Freeman killed the Nihilanth. Later, they aided the Lambda resistance in the overthrowing of the Combine occupation of Earth. Having adopted Earth as their homeworld, the Vortigaunts are an equal member of the Coalition.

AI: The first AI created, GLaDOS (Genetic Life and Disk Operating System), was created by Aperture Science employees during the late 1990's, as an attempt for Aperture's CEO Cave Johnson to escape death (from moon-rock poisoning). Though GLaDOS was initially insane and homicidal, the re-emergence of her other 'personality', Caroline, has since caused her to settle down into a slightly-more benign state. AI's played a major role in the reconstruction of Earth, and for their invaluable assistance, were invited to join the Coalition; since then, AI's have played a great role in Coalition politics and decision within the Parliament.

The Combine: The Combine, also known as the Universal Union, is an inter-dimensional empire spanning hundreds of different universes that has assimilated and enslave trillions of different species. Though not much is known about the Combine, it is known that they are headed by a race of extremely power telepathic/telekinetic aliens called the Shu'ulathoi (or Advisors), and boast an unbeaten understanding of dark energy and its applications. Even today, Coalition scientists have yet to understand all the principles underlying Combine scientific theory.

Coalition Navy: Thanks to Combine technology, nano-forges, and research from Aperture Science, the Coalition is able to produce massive and powerful ships at a relatively efficient rate. Armed with an unobtainium hull and dark energy weapons, the Coalition navy is a powerful force to behold. However, most Coalition ships are not put on offensive duties, but are rather delegated to defensive duties, guarding the Coalition's worlds in heavy numbers.

Unobtainium: Unobtainium is a metal that was commonly used by the Combine for their military and buildings. Unobtainium displays properties that are not native to this universe, and thus can only be produced by using femto-manipulators, infinitesimally small devices that can manipulate the properties of atoms and imbue them with unnatural characteristics. Unobtainium is renowned for being incredibly dense and having a high tensile strength, yet is incredibly light- weight; also, the atoms composing unobtainium are bound extremely tightly, resulting in a unparalleled high-melting point and atomic strength; this makes directed-energy-weapons and dark-energy weapons less effective against it. However, even in the post-scarcity state the Coalition has evolved to, the production of unobtainium is still costly; entire stars systems are converted into giant factories, with the sole intention of producing unobtainium, and only ships classified as dreadnoughts are higher are outfitted with unobtainium armor.

**A/N: Reviews and constructed criticism will be rewarded with cake. Which is not a lie. **


	3. Unforeseen Consequences

**A/N: I am overjoyed at the positive support this fic has been getting. Thanks for all the support guys!**

** Hornet07: I think you're right, I did underestimate the number of crew. Thanks for the tip. **

** pking10: They're less worried about the main Combine Empire, then about any Combine forces that spread through the rest of the galaxy during the initial occupation. They've become even more paranoid about this after the discovery of the relays, devices that utilize Combine materials and technology.  
**

** guest: Regarding curbstomps: no, this will not be a typical "human curbstomp against the Citadel." Every race, no matter how powerful they are, have a weakness that a crafty opponent can exploit; just give it a bit of time to play out. **

**I've noticed that some people have voiced their objections about the Codex. The Codex is there to explain any concepts, technology, or other bits of information that can't be explained during the story, either because it would disrupt the flow of the story, or it just wouldn't fit.  
**

**This chapter is a little bit short, but don't worry, the action will pick up soon. **

* * *

**3025 C.E**

**Sol System**

**Dyson Sphere**

**Coalition Assembly Parliament **

Without a doubt, the most daunting and difficult engineering task the the Coalition had ever taken was that of the construction of the dyson sphere surrounding Sol. Once complete, a solid sphere of unobtainium stretching just past the orbit of the Earth would insheathe most of the inner solar system, providing plenty of room for habitation space and industrial facilities on its inner surface; additionally, the outer surface of the sphere would serve as a massive system-wide defense platform, with millions if not billions of defense emplacements to be planted onto the surface.

To facilitate such an immense construction project, Sol itself had been utilized as a source of raw materials. Massive manufacturing stations orbiting close to the sun siphoned off burning-hot stellar matter, where it was delivered to the nano-forges and femto-manipulators within. The carbon, silicon, iron, and magnesium contained within would be filtered out from the hydrogen and helium, where they would then be refined and converted by the nano-forges into star-ship components, computer parts, body armour, weapons, and a plethora of other materials; the hydrogen and helium would be refined and stored as fuel for fusion reactors, or delivered to the femto-manipulators, where femtomachines smaller than subatomic particles would manipulate the very properties the atoms possessed, turning them into precious unobtainium. Teleports would then deliver the processed materials to where they were needed: unobtainium and fullerene-composed materials to the shipyards, foundries, factories, or dyson sphere construction sites, hardware and other goods teleported to distribution centers or export hubs. As more and more matter was drained, the lifespan of the sun was extended; consequently, light and heat output had diminished considerably. To compensate, large orbital mirrors had been placed in geostationary orbit around the Earth, to provide it with the additional warmth and light the sun had one provided; perhaps one day, when the sphere had finally been completed, the Earth too would be dismantled, its soil, water, flora and fauna spread across the inner-surface, serving as natural habitation space for future generations.

After a millenia of non-stop construction, the dyson sphere was now a quarter completed. A shell of unobtainium, so large that it could now be seen anywhere from the solar system, now orbited the sun just beyond the Earth; from its very center, a needle-thin tower spanning 40 km high jutted out, reaching towards the sun; at its peak stood a large circular chamber, with long crystal-clear reinforced glass windows providing a breath-taking view of the solar system. This chamber was the Parliament of the Coalition Assembly.

Inside, the 101 humans, vortigaunts, and AI's that made up the Coalition Parliament were all convened for an emergency session of Parliament. They were all seated around a round table, with an impressive high-definition holographic display hanging in the center, displaying a beautiful, swirling image of the galaxy.

The tension within the room was thick, as if it were oozing out of the politicians like a thick goo. The recent incident over the Shanxi Relay had sent the entire Coalition on high-alert; a state of DEFCON 1 had been issued for the first time in Coalition history. Entire fleets were being recalled to protect the colonies, with sectors being locked down and travel between worlds prohibited. The teleport network that linked the Coalition together was shut off from civilian usage, relegated only to military personnel; construction of the dyson sphere had been slowed down, the raw materials instead being diverted to shipyards and foundries.

In the middle of the room, there stood the military council of the Coalition Assembly, with General Andrew Lee, commander in chief of the entire Coalition military, as their spokesperson.

One by one, the politicians switched of their tablets and turned their attention to Williams. "General Lee." said the representative of the Koltan system. "What is the current status of our military?"

"All our fleets have been pulled back to our colonies for defense. Scouting and escort operations have been suspended, and all active and reserve ships have been locked into defensive positions. Orbital defenses have been elevated to red alert, and scouting probes have been dispatched to systems opposite Shanxi. Currently, several dreadnought and carrier squadrons have been ordered to defend Shanxi until the planetary defenses have been established. All Leviathans have been ordered back to Sol. Thankfully, the Shanxi relay was successfully dismantled, even with the damage caused by the unexpected jump. " Lee reported

"And what have the scout probes discovered so far?" another Minister asked.

"This." replied Lee, gesturing at the holographic display. The picture of the galaxy zoomed in closer, and closer, and closer, before it stopped at a picture of Coalition space. Several star systems a few light years away had been highlighted in red, while the Coalition border had been drawn in dark blue.

"Our probes have revealed the presence of several Combine controlled systems, just outside our border." explained Lee, pointing at the star systems coloured red. "Initial scans indicated that these worlds are industrial manufacturing centers, shipyards, or military bases. All of them have a heavy military presence within them."

The picture zoomed in, until a planet covered with factories, shipyards, and space-stations came into view, with various sensor readings and figures displayed besides it.

"While no unobtainium or dark energy reactors were detected, we believe that this world is managed not directly managed by the Advisors, which explains the lack of Citadels." Lee went on. "Captain Williams and Commander Achilles have stated their opinion that the fleet they encountered belonged to a thrall race of theirs, a race enslaved by the Combine during their time here from the occupation, and adapted to serve as expendable shock troopers. Based on their ship design and how the Shanxi incident unfolded, I am forced to agree with them."

"And how so?"

"Primarily, their ships were emanating dark energy signatures matching those of the mass relays, known pieces of Combine technology. I find it very unlikely that another race could develop mass relay technology independently, without Combine intervention." Lee explained. "Two, their ships are designed to maximize firing speed, not power or durability. During the battle, the enemy ships were firing at a rate of one projectile every two seconds, far outstripping the rate of our dark energy and nuclear cannons. Their weapons were not overly powerful, and their shields and armour were laughable; it seems that these ships were meant to overwhelm opponents with sheer number and ferocity, which matches Captain Williams hypothesis of them being expendable shock troopers."

"But then, why send only 30 ships to attack us?"

"They were probably only a scouting force or advanced party." explained Lee, shrugging.

"And what would our next course of action be?" asked another minister. "Surely we cannot leave these worlds intact and operational, so close to our borders?"

Lee nodded. "The minister is correct. As powerful and durable as our ships and defenses are, we cannot risk a Combine attack overwhelming us through numerical superiority and firing speed. These worlds must be neutralized as soon as possible. That is why I am asking for the Parliament's approval for the withdrawal of some of our defensive forces for an offensive attack."

"If we approve this, then we'll leave our worlds defenseless." someone objected.

"The military council is only asking for 4 squadrons of dreadnoughts and a squadron of carriers." Lee replied smoothly. "Another other ships we request will be excess cruisers, frigates, and corvettes. Besides, the Coalition's military buildup for the last millennia has ensured that our worlds are more than adequately defended, even if we did withdraw some dreadnoughts. We are not asking for our Leviathans or anything like that."

"Thank you General. Once the Parliament has reached a decision, we'll contact you later."

The military council bowed before the politicians, before leaving the room.

Later that day, Lee received message on his private communicator.

"Proposal approved. Requested ships will be transferred to your personal command. You may begin offensive action at any time."

Lee smiled, a predatory grin stretching over his face.

* * *

**3025 C.E**

**Serpent Nebula**

**Widow System**

**Citadel**

**Citadel Tower**

**1 Week after First Contact**

The councillors of the Citadel Council, the three most powerful people in the known galaxy, where starring wide-mouthed at a video display showing the battle between the Citadel's exploration fleet and an unknown alien ship.

Well, it wasn't exactly a battle. It was more like a massacre.

A towering monstrosity, approximately 15 km in length faced off against a flotilla of 30 of the Citadel races best ships. Bright blue beams streaked from the ship, tearing apart the Turian and Asari ships in an instant, kinetic barriers having no effect against them; a swarm of missiles detonated besides a Turian cruiser, its hull turning into dust seconds later; pin-point energy turrets shot down incoming frigates at an unnatural speed. Mass accelerator rounds from the Turian vessels flew towards the ship, but didn't impact against any shield; instead, they passed through a barely visible shimmering field, and were disintegrated. Even Desolas's dreadnought, the _Spirit's Will_, one of the technologically advanced ships in the Turian military, had no discernable effect against the alien vessel.

Then at the climax of battle, a ball of atomic fury flew out from the unknown ship, detonating in the middle of the remaining citadel ships. Unlucky ships were instantly atomized, while others ignited into raging infernos, boiling their unlucky crews; parts of the _Spirit's Will _sheared off, and it was only by sheer luck that the dreadnought escaped the withering fire coming from the alien vessel and jumped through the mass relay.

And the played again. And again. And again.

It had only been 2 days since General Desolas's ship limped back to the nearest Turian planet, heavily damaged and barely functional; he was all that remained of the expedition fleet. Desolas had been immediately summoned to the Citadel for a private session with the Councill, where he had given them the video. Desolas stood uneasily before the three councillors, still numb about the entire attack.

The Salarian Councillor, Valern, was the first to break the silence. "Rewind the video to 8 minutes and 46 seconds. Something interesting. Pause there"

The video feed was rewinded to the appropriate time, showing a brief image of the mass relay. Except this time, the Councillors could see that something was very wrong the relay.

Entire sections of the relay had been torn off, while the parts of the element zero containment rings floated nearby. The core itself was not a bright whitish-blue colour as it should be, but a sickly-pale colour, while a zoomed in image of the relay revealed several large probes attached to it. The internal system of the relay had been exposed, and as the video resumed in slow motion, unstable bolts of energy lept from them, while a glittering silver swarm flew out of the probes, eating away at the relay's hull. It looked like the entire relay was on the verge of collapse.

Sparatus, the Turian Councillor, was the first to respond. "These people were tampering with a mass relay! They have to be stopped!"

Tevos, the Asari Councillor, looked at Sparatus incredulously. "SPARATUS ARE YOU INSANE! You saw the capabilities of that ships. There is no way the Citadel races can fight against a race that can produce vessels that size, not when they have technology beyond our comprehension! If they can modify a relay to the magnitude, I fear that their technology far outstrips ours."

Valern nodded in agreement. "Tevos is correct. Current military capabilities insufficient to match against this aggressor. Judging from capabilities of this single ship, unknown race possess unparalleled knowledge with element zero. STG has reviewed data General Desolas has given us, very troubling information revealed."

"Like what?" Sparatus inquired.

"Dark energy readings from ship beyond known limits of mass effect technology." Valern reported. "Beam weapons are not directed energy weapons; rather, they are exotic matter or dark energy weaponry. Missiles are filled with what appear to be nanite swarms, capable of dissolving any ship. Hull is composed of substance unknown to modern science and appears to violate laws of physics. Crew of the ship is reacting at unnatural speeds, and shield technology is decades, perhaps centuries ahead of our own. Not to mention ship size; such a ship should not be possible to begin with. That is just to name a few."

"A material that violates the laws of physics? Dark energy weapons?" Tevos asked, half-amazed, half-in fear. "How..what?"

"STG is unsure at the moment, but substance appears to possess an atomic strength and density unparalleled by any other element or alloy, yet still maintains an extremely low mass. Such an element is in violation of multiple laws of physics, and simply should not exist. As for dark energy weapons, the weapons seem to be firing concentrated beams of exotic matter, with a force capable of neutralizing strong nuclear force, thus causing atoms to fall apart."

General Desolas coughed nervously, shifting uneasily on his feet. "If I may councillors, do you think that these aliens...are the Protheans?"

The councillors fell silent. Desolas continued on. "They obviously have an enormous understanding of element zero and dark energy, and it appears that they possess the knowledge to deactivate a relay, and tamper with it safely, and as we all know, only the Protheans had that kind of technology or understanding."

"But then why would they attack us?" Tevos asked. "From all the data we have about the Protheans, they were a highly benevolent race, concerned about the well-being of lesser species. Why attack us without provocation? "

"Now is not the time for questions." Sparatus declared confidently. "If this new race really are the Protheans, and they truly are attempting to attack us, then are first priority is defense. I suggest that we call up our military reserves, to reinforce the Citadel and the region near Relay 314. Additionally, I also propose sending STG stealth units to the region beyond 314, to gain intelligence or information. "

Tevos sighed, staring out at the purple and pink clouds of the Serpent Nebula. Normally, the sight would have soothed her, but today, it merely filled her with dread. She could almost imagine an alien fleet, with unimaginable power and filled with malice, lurking behind the nebula, waiting for the perfect moment to strike and annihilate them. The thought sent shivers down her spine, cold sweat breaking out on her back.

"I second Sparatus's proposal." Valern piped up. "On behalf of the Salarian Union, I promise the full cooperation of the Salarian Armed Forces, and all STG units.

"And on behalf of the Asari Republics and the Asari Matriarchs, I promise our full support and cooperation as well." Tevos intoned.

"Excellent." Sparatus said. "We can issue the mobilization orders immediately. In the meanwhile…"

He was interrupted by a sudden chime, indicating the arrival of a Turian aide. The aide walked up to the Council Podium with a grave expression, fear and panic in his eyes.

"Councillors." he reported lifelessly. "We've just lost contact with Aephus. Before they went dark, they issued a Level 9 distress signal, and reported that they were under attack by an unknown force."

"Aephus?" Sparatus quizzically asked. "But that's a military shipyard, near…"

"Relay 314." he finished in a deathly tone.

At this, Tevos fainted.

* * *

**Reviews are appreciated, and will contribute greatly to the progress of science. **


	4. Apprehension

**3025 C.E**

**Coalition Task Force Omega**

**CSS Annihilator**

**Enroute to Aephus **

When a ship engaged its fold-drive, encapsulating itself in a bubble of space-time that contracted and thrashed around, propelling the ship at speeds exceeding the speed of light, the only thing that could be seen was...nothing.

The vid-screen displayed nothing but an endless expanse of utter darkness, pitch-black and devoid of any features. There was no streaking stars, or hazy blue glow as shown in the ancient science fiction films; there was only the dark. Much like how sound could never catch up to a supersonic aircraft, when traveling at 40,000 times the speed of light, there was simply no way that light from an object could reach a ship.

Fortunately, the laws of physics still behaved normally within the space-time bubble, and thus, a dim glow came out from the many lights dotting the _Annihilator's_ hull, making sure that not all of the ship was consumed in unyielding darkness. It was on these lights that Commodore Ulysses focused on; the view of lights within darkness soothed him, reminding him that even in the darkest hours, hope and couraged still burned away like a bright flame. In the darkest hours of the Combine invasion of the Vortigaunt homeworld and the occupation of Earth, it was the actions of a few brave individuals that brought hope to the survivors. And now, those flames of hope that the resistors had ignited had grew into a raging inferno, hell-fire ready to devour the Combine.

Ulysses was one of the few Vortigaunt naval officers within the Coalition Navy. It wasn't because of any prejudice or xenophobia on part of the Coalition that prevented more Vortigaunts from joining; rather, it was because that only a few vortigaunts had any inclination towards joining navy. Most vortigaunts, with their skills at high-energy physics and science, were employed by applied science and research companies, primarily the government funded Aperture Science; others were enlisted within the Coalition's ground army and intelligence corps, invaluable as support units and indispensable as infiltrators with their mental connection to the rest of the vortigaunt race. The notion of commanding starships simply didn't appeal to them.

But to Ulysses, there was nothing more romantic or noble than to be in command of an imposing warship, sailing through the empty vacuum of interstellar space, seeing worlds and stars that living eyes had never laid upon; indeed, it was his greatest desire to simply commandeer a ship and set out into uncharted space, never returning to the Coalition. Unfortunately, Coalition exploration policy was very clear regarding manned exploration of uncharted space: it was strictly forbidden and punishable by life-long imprisonment. Most exploration was conducted by automated nanoprobes, that relayed their data back to the nearest comm station. A rather unfortunate obstacle in Ulysse's dream.

Come to think of it, all Coalition citizens had a rather limited number of career paths; namely applied sciences and engineering, the military, politics and law, and medicine. The arts were practically non-existent, deemed by the central government as "non-productive during times of war or crises"; the last major pieces of art were the few that had survived the Combine occupation of Earth over 1000 years ago. With the discovery of the Prothean archives and the mass relays, the Coalition government had declared a perpetual state of war until it could be confirmed that the Combine threat was over; its entire population had been devoted into creating more destructive and efficient weapons of war.

And the government! The government controlled all the vital industries necessary to any space-faring civilization; transportation, food, mining, energy, industrial processes, research and development, the teleportation bureau, all were under the strict control of the government. The few private companies that existed only had control over non-important business, namely entertainment and private vehicles. In short, the government had absolute control over the Coalition; the government had stated before that this was to prevent the faults of the capitalist societies of old, and to focus the Coalition's industry towards that of war and defense, but Ulysses had his misgivings. Even though the government had been kept in check by various laws, safeguards, and the general population, Ulysses still believed that the possibility of corruption within the government was too high.

Ulysses wasn't the only one who had misgivings about the government. Insurrectionists and rebellions had plagued the Coalition ever since its foundation, wanting a more libertarian policy and a return to the old ways, attacking outposts and automated shipyards and manufacturing centers from hidden bases ; more and more resources had to be diverted away to combat them. Ulysses himself had been a veteran of more than 20 combat operations against the insurrectionists.

His musings were interrupted by the ship's navigation AI, reporting that the fleet would reach their destination in less than 5 minutes, and that the maintenance of the FTL converters had been completed. While highly efficient and durable as it was, the fold-drive was not without its flaws. When travelling for long periods of time or at incredibly high velocities, a collection of high-energy particles and lethal doses of radiation would collect at the front of the space-time "bubble" the fold-drive created; if not dispersed immediately, any object s in front of a ship that was reverting back to real-space would be instantly annihilated in a shower of tachyonic particles, or the buildup would be so great, that the bubble would collapse, and the ship would be atomized. Because of this, all FTL-capable ships were equipped with FTL converters, devices that would convert the buildup of energy and particles into useful energy, storing them into large energy sinks aboard the ship; this greatly helped extend the range and velocity of FTL ships. The _Annihilator's_ FTL converters had been malfunctioning since the beginning of the transit, increasing the risk of a catastrophic failure, or at worst, complete annihilation of a star system.

Their objective was simple. Eliminate all enemy fleets and orbital defenses, deploy their arks, before moving on to the next star system, with the goal of neutralizing all combine-held factory worlds, and if possible, locating their main base of operations. If the element of speed and surprise was to be kept, the fleet could not provide any orbital support to their ground troops; they would have to move on immediately, leaving their ground and air units to fend for themselves, which would mean that there would be no orbital support. Ulysses had been in favour of simply bombarding the planets until their crusts were molten rock and metal, but the military council had opted for a surface invasion, in the hopes of capturing manufacturing facilities and Combine technology.

The navigation AI once again appeared before him, reminding him that the fleet would revert back into real space in less than 2 minutes.

Ulysses snapped to attention. "Charge all weapon batteries, and have FleetCom on standby." he ordered "Activate all defensive measures. Prepare to engage, and shield our PAC and Carriers."

The warp bubbles surrounding the ship's of the fleet dropped down, allowing light from a distant star to reach the ships. Using his nano-augmented awareness, Ulysses was instantly able to discern the features of a blue green planet illuminated by the starlight, parts of it's skies and surfaces choked with fire and smoke from factories.

Ulysses frowned. Combine factories had been remarkably clean and efficient, as demonstrated during the occupation of Earth and the invasion of the Vortigaunt's home universe; instead, while the sky and surface had been clear of smog and smoke, great chunks of land had been ripped out to feed the factories, while oceans had been drained by super-portals. Additionally, nano forges and femto-manipulators produced virtually no waste products, and certainly not the pollution that had plagued the factories of old. The planet in front of him bore more resemblance to a world stuck in the age of mechanical processing, reliant on extreme heat and pressures to fuse and forge metals. The planet below them did not bear any resemblance to a Combine factory world.

In less than a millisecond, his attention had been diverted to that of a defense fleet, locked in geosynchronous orbit above the planet, their bows pointing towards a mass relay in the distant. Once again, Ulysses frowned mentally; he had heard of Captain William's report that his encounter with the Combine had been with ships no longer than a kilometer, but he had always assumed that that was a recon force. The planetary defense fleet in front of him consisted of no more than 20 800-meter ships, accompanied by 38 200-meter long frigates. To put such a small amount ships as a defensive fleet for a factory-world off all things, with not even a single dreadnought to reinforce them was unlike the Combine.

But Ulysses had his orders, and attempting to disobey those orders would result in a charge of high treason or execution. Even so, he had an inkling feeling that this attack would be a very very bad mistake.

He didn't have much time to think anymore, as the Coalition fleet sprung into action, executing a well-known tactic: the blitzkrieg. Well not precisely the same as the tactic used by ancient Germany during the Second World War, the modern blitzkrieg was still devastating, used thousands of times by the Coalition military.

In the bowels of the nuclear cannons mounted onto every dreadnought and artillery ship, chunks of frozen deuterium were suddenly struck by hundreds of high-powered lasers, creating a nuclear fusion detonation. The explosion was then frozen and confined by tesla-field strength magnetic fields, accelerated down a barrel, before being propelled by into empty space. As the magnetic bottle began to weaken, the nuclear fire within expanded, before at last the bottle fell apart, and the nuclear explosion blossomed into a fireball of destruction, vaporizing at least 20 ships.

Then from the center of the fleet, a black swarm emerged. Thousands of AI controlled fighters and hundreds of manned-interceptors took off from their carriers, bright exhaust trails flowing from their plasma thrusters, illuminated by the blue glow of dark energy weaponry, as the cruisers and dreadnoughts opened fire with their main batteries; following them were packs upon packs of missiles, loaded with voracious nano-swarms, terror-drones, plasma warheads, warp bombs, and cluster missiles. Meanwhile, wolfpacks of frigates darted in and out, using their speed and agility to avoid harm while firing torpedoes and dark energy beams.

The Combine ships reacted with surprising speed, turning to point their bows towards the Coalition fleet. Bright flashes of light punctuated the darkness, as kinetic rounds travelling at 2% the speed of light sped towards the Coalition ships every 2 seconds, disintegrating against disrupter shields. However, as the Combine ships began to focus their fire on specific ships, Ulysses began to receive reports of shield failures, hull breaches, or even total ship destruction. In a nanosecond, Ulysses had sent out an order, telling his more vulnerable ships to fall behind the dreadnoughts and allow the dreadnoughts to shield them.

However, before the Combine ships could inflict more damage, the first salvos of fire from the Coalition ships impacted against the Combien vessels, easily bypassing their kinetic barriers before dissolving their hulls. Following closely behind were missiles and fighters, which proceeded to mob the enemy ships in large clouds, picking away at their defenses. It was really a vicious cycle, for there was no way the Combine could focus on two threats at once: either the Combine ships had to divert their attention to the fighters swarming them, or focus on the capital ships bombarding them and risk being picked apart by the fighters. Ship after ship quickly succumbed to the intensity of the attack.

Ulysses casually selected several Combine ships, ordering his fighters to merely disable them. Promptly, bombers swooped down upon them, deploying shield-piercing missiles; the missiles, using their limited teleportation capabilities, quickly scanned their surrounding area before teleporting behind the Combine's kinetic barriers, before quickly accelerating and ramming into their hulls. The missiles opened to reveal their payload of nano-swarms and terror drones, that immediately spread out across the ships. Screams of pain and agony could be heard aboard the Combine vessels, as the nano-swarms rapidly devoured any organic tissue aboard, while terror drones hacked into computer systems, shutting down life support, opening air locks, venting oxygen, and mercilessly butchering opponents with their plasma cutters and saws. Once the crew were dead, the drones deactivated, allowing easy recovery of the disabled Combine vessels.

The engagement was over within minutes. Even though several more Coalition ships had succumbed to concentrated kinetic fire, the Combine ships had been unable to withstand the massive barrage of fire that came their way, and was utterly decimated. While recovery drones moved in to recover the disabled Combine, the rest of the fleet turned towards the orbital defense platforms surrounding the planet; they were promptly destroyed by combined fire. Overall, Ulysses was quite pleased with the battle; the only casualties had been several light frigates and a cruiser, along with a small amount of fighters. Not bad at all for an engagement against the Combine.

The Coalition fleet glided through the wreckage of the battlefield, parking themselves in a geostationary orbit above one of the planet's oceans. In the middle of the fleet, large, torus shaped ships-planetary assault carriers moved into position, their teleports roaring to life. Down below on the planet's ocean, there was a bright flash of light, as several hexagonal-shaped objects with round protrusions appeared just above the ocean's surface, before settling down gently on the water. They sat there like that for a moment, before slowly descending below the water.

High above in space, the Coalition fleet was seen streaking away towards the stars, as they moved onto the next world.

* * *

**3025 C.E**

**Planet Aephus**

**Turian Planetary Defense Command**

"Nothing?"

The aid shook his head. "Absolutely nothing. They annihilated our defense fleet, smashed through our orbital defenses, and then left. No dropships, no transports, no surface invasion. They just left."

Commander Victus looked at his aid, his mandibles spread out in confusion. "Are you absolutely sure?"

"Positive sir. Scans show nothing in orbit or within the atmosphere. They simply left."

"But why?" Victus asked. "Our defenses were shattered; they held orbital supremacy. The logical step would be to attempt an invasion of our surface."

"I don't know." the aid replied. "But just to be prepared, I have ordered all our forces on high alert, and evacuated all civilians to designated safe zones."

"Including that archaeological team?"

"Including them as well."

"Can we send a message back to Palaven?" Victus inquired hopefully. "Ask for more reinforcements."

"No sir." the aid replied negatively. "Before leaving, our attackers jammed our communications; we were lucky enough to send of that distress signal. We could send a courier drone through the relay, but it might take days to reach Palaven."

"Do that then." he ordered. "As soon as possible."

Victus eased back into his chair, weary and exhausted. "Who attacked us?" he asked. "They didn't use the relay to arrive, they didn't use kinetic barriers or mass accelerators, their initial assault force possessed more dreadnoughts than all of the Turian navy, and we only managed to take down some of their lighter frigates and cruisers. So tell me, who attacked us."

"I don't know sir. But we should be thankful that they left, rather than pursuing their attack."

At that precise moment, a comm officer burst into Victus's command center. "Commander, 3 of our military-industrial complexes are reporting that they are under attack. They are suffering heavy casualties and are requesting reinforcements."

Victus's jaw dropped. "What!" he exclaimed, running towards the tactical displays. "But scans aren't picking up any unknown air or orbital signatures! How is this possible! Explain you fool!"

"Sir, they aren't attacking from the air or from orbit. They're attacking from the sea."

Victus's stared at the officer for a good solid minute before sinking back into his chair.

"Well, fuck."

* * *

**A/N: Well things are heating up here, and now the Coalition fleet is advancing deeper into Turian territory. This can't be good can it?**

**Reviews would be greatly appreciated and will be awarded with your very own Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device. **


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